ABSTRACT
Recently there has been a lot of talk on the application of ADR mechanisms to deal with land issues such as historical injustices. Section 4 of the Land Act number 6 of 2012 in fact encourages the use of ADR in dispute resolution. However, the ADR methods of resolving disputes in Kenya are less developed. They are mostly resorted to by big institutions that want to save their image from negative publicity. This method of resolving land disputes have not been explored fully meaning that most cases find their way to the courts not considering the fact that they could be solved outside court thus saving much time and other resources especially finances.
This research paper focuses on Banita Settlement Scheme in Nakuru County. This Settlement Scheme for more than ten years has been at the center of controversy. The researcher chose this place as the study area due to the fact that in itself is a dispute that has not been resolved. The case as we speak is in court awaiting determination and this delay has caused deaths at some point hence a need for a quick resolution cannot be overemphasized. The research demonstrated that, yes, lack of awareness of appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms is a key factor towards the poor use of ADR to solve land disputes. The field survey to collect primary data was conducted during the month of February 2013.
This paper further argues that ADR mechanisms such as mediation and negotiation have not been fully exploited in land dispute resolution especially in Kenya. This has been attributed to lack of awareness and low levels of education. This research notes that ADR dispute resolution has been widely exploited in most parts of the world to solve disputes including land and labor disputes. This has resulted in expeditious dispute resolution. South Africa for example, used the success of ADR in labor disputes as a basis for advocating for land dispute settlement through an out-of-court resolution.